Protect Play and Learning will Thrive
More movement. More connection. Better learning.
The Mission
We’re working to restore the right to play in public schools by expanding daily play time beyond the minimum and protecting it across the school day.
Paving the Way to More Play
Why Now?
Screens Down, Play Up
LAUSD is officially cutting classroom screen time in 2026. We’re filling that space with high-interaction, real-world connection. Less digital noise, more human play.
LAUSD: RESTORE THE RIGHT TO PLAY
Public schools have traded childhood joy for sedentary seat-time, and our kids are paying the price. With a 24% chronic absenteeism crisis and a surge in student anxiety, it's time to expand beyond the 30-minute minimum and restore meaningful daily play.
Learning Needs a Reset
A sedentary brain is a foggy brain. 60 minutes of movement isn't 'time off', it’s the Save Button for everything kids learn. We’re clearing the fog so the lessons actually stick.
Wellness Over Data
24% of our students are missing school. We’re making school a place where kids feel a sense of belonging by prioritizing clinical wellness over test-prep pressure. Joy is our best attendance strategy.
Mandates every elementary student has a legal right to at least 30 minutes of free unstructured play time
California SB 291
Screen Limit Resolution
District-wide implementation of new screen time limits takes effect
in 2026-2027
LAUSD has made a commitment to moving away from "test-prep fatigue" and toward a
"whole-child" approach
Joy & Wellness
More Play Is Possible
With schedules that support development and wellness, schools can expand play time while meeting instructional requirements.
No lost funding. No lost pay. Just better learning.
Did you know...
Funding is tied to instructional minutes.
For elementary (K–5 in LAUSD):
-
State minimum (K–3): ~200 minutes/day
-
State minimum (4–5): ~300 minutes/day
BUT in practice (LAUSD schedules):
~300–330 minutes of instruction per day
(about 5 to 5.5 hours)
Bring Back Afternoon Recess:
Restore the "15-30-15" rhythm (Morning, Lunch, Afternoon) to meet clinical recommendations for child development, support regulation, and boost mental health.
Make Brain Breaks Standard:
Long academic blocks should include 2-minute "recharges" to clear the fog and maintain high focus and engagement, supporting retention in lessons.
Prioritize Wellness Over Screens:
More recess and unstructured play represents a proactive, high-interaction solution to the 2026 District Screen-Time Mandate.
30 minutes of play
vs
300+ minutes of instruction?
Protect Play is calling for LAUSD to:
"But Why Play?", you say...
The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
Play is "essential for developing the executive functioning skills" that prevent childhood anxiety and depression
Research shows students retain 20-30% more information when a 90-minute block is interrupted by a physical reset.
Children who receive multiple 15-minute play breaks show a 68% decrease in cortisol (stress hormones) compared to those in sedentary classrooms
Today's children spend 35% less time playing outside freely than their parents did.
Physical movement releases BDNF, a protein often called "Miracle-Gro for the brain." It physically stimulates the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus—the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
Research shows that for every 15 minutes of play, there is a 40% increase in "on-task" behavior during the following instructional block. Students return to class with their "attentional batteries" recharged
Every time a child uses a stick as a magic wand or a leaf as a "plate," they are practicing Symbolic Thinking. This is the exact same neurological pathway used to understand that a squiggle on a page represents a sound. More play in the early years (TK-2) builds the abstract "muscle" needed for deep reading comprehension later on.
The Play Protectors:
So, who are the Play Protectors?
We are parents, caregivers, educators, and neighbors refusing to let childhood be a data point.
Guided by the truth that movement promotes development, and play is learning,
we are reclaiming the school day for all 400,000 kids in LAUSD.
When we protect their right to play, we protect their right to thrive.
It’s all of us.